Churn-timer



S. J. VAN KUREN.

CHURN nmsn. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 12, 1919.

Patented Mar- 15, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET s. 1.,VAN KU-REN. 'CHURN '[IMER. APPLICATION FILED JUN E12, 19H? 1,371,455. Patnted Mar. 15, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2- S. 'J. VAN KUREN. A cnunu TIMER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l2, I919. 1,371,455. Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

3 SHEETSSIIEET 3.

" der which a butter UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VAN KUREN, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO 3'. G. CHERRY COMPANY, CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

CHURN-TIMER.

Application filed June 12, 1919. Serial No. 303,639.

To all'wkomz't may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN J. VAN KUREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cedar Rapids, inthe county of Linn and State of Iowa, have invented cer tain. new and useful Improvements in V Churn-Timers, of which the following is a specification.

This'invention relates to timingdevices and it is especially designed and adapted for use in connection with churns to give a signal which will indicate to the operator -whe n thebutter working process is completed. i

.It is customary for the. operator to time thebutter Working process by the revolutions of the churn. drum, which operates at a comparatively low rate of speed, about six revolutions per minute, when working butter. The object of this invention is to provide -a timing device which can beset to give a signal after a predetermined number of revolutions of the drum so that the operator may be occupied in otherduties during the butter working process, knowing that he will receive ample warning from the timing device as the working process approaches completion.

A further and veryimportant object of the inventionis to provide a device of this character without delicate or complicated parts but having a strong and substantial construction suitable for the conditions unprocess must necessarily be conducted. p I,

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention in which a bell is employed to be soundedas a signal, and referring thereto 40.

V Figure 1 is a front'elevation showing the device in its proper relation to an operating 1 g ger 25 of a bell 26. Thlsbell may be of cam on a right hand" churn, that is one in which the operating devices are located at the right end of the drum.

Fig. 2 is'a sectional elevation of the device with the dial and bell removed.

. which the operating devices are located at the left end of the drum. 2

Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views :of the device for the left hand installation.

My invention broadly contemplates a device adapted for a right hand or for a left hand machine which can be mounted on the leg or standard supporting the drum, with the operating cam on the end of the drum, or which can be mounted on the end of the drum, with the operating cam on the leg or standard. In the drawings I have illustrated the former construction in which the timer is mounted on a leg or standard and the operating cam on the drum, but it will be readlly understood that the position of these parts may be reversed within the intended scope of the appended claims.

The device constructed for'aright hand churn comprises a pivot which may be in the form of a rock shaft 9 (Figs 1-5) which is mounted in a support 10 securely fastened to the-leg or standard 11 of the churn. A rocker 12 is rigidly mounted on the shaft 9 and carries a cam segment 13 at its upper end and a spur 14 below the cam. A notch 15 in this rocker engages a projection 16 on the support to limit the movement of the rocker (Fig. 5). A floating pawl 17 is pro-.

support. A feather spring 23 is fastened to the support to engage the toothed flange and serveas a holding pawl to prevent reverse movement of the dial plate.

The dial plate is provided with a cam 24 which is adaptedto actuatethe operating member of a signal device, such as the plunany suitable type but I prefer to provide a continuous ringing bell and to make the cam ofsuch length that it will engage the bell-operating member and continue to sound an alarm during a plurality of revolutions of the churn so that ample warning of the completion of the butter working process will be given, but a short cam may, answer the purpose if a correspondingly short signal is sufficient.

A cam 27 is mounted on the head of the churn, conveniently ,to a rib on the operating gear fast on the head (not shown).

' will be positioned in its path of movement 'ment with the rocker.

This cam is adjusted so that the segment 13 as the churn drum revolves. The segment may be thrown out of operative relation to the cam by means of a lever 28 pivoted on the support at 29. This lever is shown in normal position in full lines in Fig. 2, out of engage- VVhen the lever is swung on its pivot its upper short end 28 will ride over the rocker and depress the same to carry the segment out of the path .of the cam and render the timing device noperative.

i F or a left hand churn timer (Fig. 6) the segment 30 (Fig. 8) and the rocker31 (Fig.

7) are made separately, the segment being mounted on the right'end of theirock shaft 9 and the rocker beingv mounted on the left end of this shaft as in the right hand churn timer. In other respects the construction is thesame as heretofore described and the operation of both constructions is identical. In practice the'device is mounted in any suitable position where the tripper segment 13 is adapted to be engaged and-operated by a cam or other suitable device on the revolving drum of the churn. The operator will set the toothed dial by turning it clockwise until the tooth representing the predeter- 'mined number of revolutions desired is disposed opposite the plunger 25. The dial is provided with finger pieces 30 to facilitate this adjustment. Then the churn is placed in operation andeach'time thesegment is tripped the feed pawl will advance the dial the distance of a tooth and the holding pawl will hold it in this position. The spring 22 serves to retain the feed pawl in place on the spur 14: as well as to hold it in operative engagement with the dial plate, and furthermore it holds the rocker armand its segment normally in the path of the cam 27 As the butter working process nears completion the cam 27 will be carried into operative engagement with the bell operating member 25 and sound an alarm, this alarm being continued as long as the cam continues in operative engagement with said member and preferably during several revolutions of the churn so that the operator will have ample opportunity toleave any other work upon whichhe may be engaged to re- *su'me. his attention to the churn.

* While the vinvention is particularly intended for use in connection with churns.

for timing the butter working-process it can 7 obviously be employed for many other purthose skilled in the art.

noses which will be readily suggested to My improved device is strong and substantial in construction, it has no delicateor complicated mechanism which would soon become corroded and disordered under the moist conditions which prevail in creamcries, it can be easily applied to'a churn, and

, it can be 'readilyadjusted for operation.

1am aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts and in the details of construction of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make all "such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims. For example, it is apparent that the cam 2% may be employed to close an electric circuit which will ring a bell'or a buzzer, or flash alight, or produce 7 any other kind'of signal suitable for the purpose, it being necessary only to provide a member whichwillbe actuated by the cam for this-purpose.

Iclaim: U 1. A timing device'of the character clescribed comprising a support, a toothed 'dijal l 2 plate revolubly mounted onl'the support,

teeth formed on the face'of saiddial'plate about theperiphery thereof, a' feed pawl 'arranged to engage the teethon said dial plate to advance the same a tooth atat'ime, a

holding pawl to prevent reverse movement of the dial plate, means for; operating'said .feed pawl, a prolonged operating signal de-' vice, and a cam on thefp'eriphery of said dial plate for operating said signal device. 2. A timing device or the character described comprising a support, a revolub'le rocker shaft, a toothed "dial plate revolubly mounted on the support, a spring controlled feed pawl yieldingly mounted on the said shaft and adapted to advance said "dial plate a tooth at a time,a holding pawl to prevent reverse movement of the dial pl'ate,ja prolonged operating signal device, an'operating member for said device, and'inea'n's on the dial plate to actuate said operating member.

3. A timing device of the character described comprising "a'support, a revoluble rocker shaft,"a toothed dial plate revolubly moiuited on the support, a feed pawl mounted on the said; shaft; and arranged to engage and advance the dial platea tooth at a time, a spring for holding the said shaft and the feed pawl in operative position, a prolonged tooth at a time, a' prolonged operating signal device, a cam on the. periphery ofsaidfdial plate for operating saidsignal device, and a 1 lever on the support adapted to be engaged with said shaft to renderthe same inoperative.

5. A timing device: the character described comprising a support, a revoluble rocker shaft, a segment on said shaft adapted to be engaged to operate said shaft, a dial plate, a pawl operated by said shaft to turn the dial plate intermittently a step at a time, a prolonged operating signal device, and means on the dial plate for operating said Signal device.

6. The combination of a support, a revoluble rocker shaft, a segment for operating said shaft, a dial plate, a pawl operated by said shaft for turning the dial plate intermittently a step at a time, a prolonged operating signal device, means on the dial plate for operating said signal device, a revoluble churn drum, and a cam on said drum for engaging said segment to operate said shaft.

STEPHEN J. VAN KUREN.

Witnesses:

O. W. CERNY, L. H. Evans. 

